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Wednesday, December 30

We had a wonderful Christmas season spending time with our families and loved ones! I have especially enjoyed all the snow -from inside looking out of course :) Lance and I have both felt so blessed to have so many wonderful blessings. We missed having Kirstin, Bruce and little Savanah as well as Madsen here this year but we cant wait for next year when there will be two new additions to the family and Madsen (Lance's brother) will be off his mission.

Lance has surprised me once again this year with his amazing ability to choose and give fabulous Christmas gifts! He is so thoughtful and sweet in his gift giving. The one gift I absolutely cant wait to use is a spa package! Oh! He spoils me so. We both received so many wonderful gifts from our families. And we especially enjoyed spending time with those we love throughout the break. With our little one on the way, we both see the world a little differently :)

It has sure been a bumpy road with this pregnancy but I am happy to report that I am starting to feel much better! It's funny to say because I feel like my "much better" is probably "feeling sick" to others. But compared to where I have been, I am more than happy to take nausea and 1-2 throw-ups a day. There were almost 6 weeks straight where I literally could barley make it out of bed in the day. We had a doctors appointment today and I've gained 1.5 pounds since our last visit. Encouraging? You bet!

I felt the baby for the first time this last week- what an experience! Then today, while lying in the bathtub, I could feel the baby again and again. Lance was even able to feel it on the outside of my stomach. I've heard this is pretty early but I think with all the weight I've lost, that baby is right up by the surface and there is no extra room inside. We were both on cloud nine about it :) We find out next month what we are having.

In the meantime, we are off to Cancun this weekend with my family. We cant wait for the warm beaches, snorkeling, and just plain kickin back. I will be sure to update all we've been up to in the last moth when we return. Till then, Bon Voyage!

Wednesday, December 9

13 stands for a lot of things. The unlucky floor, how many cats I had growing up, how many weeks before Lance and I said "I love you", and now, 13 stands for how old this sweet little baby is inside of me...

We are SO excited...

...and a little nervous...

To announce our new little one who is on the way and should make its debut on June 17th.

So...the question you are all wondering! Was it planned? And the answer is, yes & no :)

Mostly, the planning consisted of a 5 second conversation one morning:

Me: Let's have a baby!

Lance: Ok...

2 weeks later: positive pregnancy test.

9 months later: baby.

Needless to say, we were a little shocked (we took the pictures above just after we

found out). But we couldn't be happier to anticipate this baby's arrival. While

we both feel like we have a lot to do in preparation to be parents, we both

feel like the timing is perfect and cannot wait to welcome our little one into this world.

Tuesday, September 22

Friday, September 18

Our good friends Emylee & Jason invited us to go to San Diego with them at the beginning of September. Also in the party were Emylee's parents (coolest parents ever!) and Lexi, Emylee's childhood friend. We gratefully accepted and had an absolute blast! Our resort was right on Mission Beach. We went surfing, boogie boarding, played smash ball on the beach, laid out in the sun, went long boarding and biking on the boardwalk, went to see the temple, and did whole lot of relaxing. Who could ask for more? Thanks Emy and Jason! It was the perfect vacation.

You can't tell but we are on long boards :)

What a darling family!

The boys surfed it up! That is until Jason got stung by a sting ray!

The cutest baby ever

I love this one

Lexi, who is also a photographer.

Best part of the entire trip: for Lexi's birthday, we went to this FANTASTIC Korean Restaurant. The entire meal was like an endless huge lettuce wrap with all different kinds of meats, vegetables, and sauces. Dont let their sign fool you, this place was authentic :)

Thursday, September 17

Even though I have photos to edit and post from our Arizona and San Diego trips, I wanted to post really quickly about mine and Lance's fun adventure the other day.

We have been taking the scooter everywhere lately (love it!) and that includes to and from school. Well the other day we were almost to the scooter to head home when we felt a couple rain drops. We better hurry! We thought. So we hopped on and off we went. We didn't get very far before a TORRENT of rain started coming down. We pulled over at first and got shelter under a tree but decided home was only 10 minutes away so we went for it. Oh my goodness! If any of you were outside or in your car when that happened, you know what I am talking about. But I have never been outside in that kind of rain, not to mention on a scooter. Needless to say, we were hysterically laughing almost the entire way home. Not only because we were COMPLETELY soaked from head to toe and probably looked ridiculous, but because the rain drops hurt! I must have said 10 times. "Babe! These are definitely hail stones now!" They were not hail stones, of course, it just felt like it....until the last turn of our trip home and then, they were definitely hail stones!!

The best part of the story is the rain completely stopped and the sun came out less than 5 minutes after we got home. It's almost like God knew we needed a good laugh :)

Thursday, September 10

Well, it's official! We are all moved into our new house. Thank you to all our friends and family who came to help us! We had quite the turn-out and felt very loved :) Things seemed to be going without a hitch and we had almost everything packed up in almost an hour. Then we all headed to the new house to unload all the furniture. Then...came time for the couches. Holy Moly those things are big! They are overstuffed leather which is nice to sit in and very pretty to look at but not very practical to get through the smaller-than-normal door frames. SO, long story short, we ended up doing a little damage in wedging the couches in. But the good news is, the couches are in! And I'm pretty sure they are staying there, for good. If the next occupants of our home wont buy them, we'll give them to them. :) Unless, of course, we want to pay someone to take out the front bay window to get them out. I guess we'll probably laugh about it once the door frames and walls are repaired and we dont own the couches anymore :) lol.

After barely getting moved in, we jumped into an airplane with Jason and Emy and little Boston and took a little vacation to San Diego. So much fun!! I cant wait to post pictures. Unfortunately, my camera found its way into a Denali that drove to Arizona. SO, pictures will have to wait. In the meantime, come visit me this Friday and Saturday at the UVU what women want expo. Lance and I went to set up this afternoon and I cant wait for things to get started tomorrow! I'm so thankful for my wonderfully supportive husband and his willingness, no, encouragement, to let me do what I love.

Tuesday, August 18

We are moving! And very excited about it. :) We found this killer deal in our ward. It's the family Lance home teaches. They are moving away and their grandma owns the home. She is trying to get things rezoned for condos but since that is taking forever, and it's a bad time to sell, she just wants the place well taken care of. SSSOOO.... we will be moving in! We'll be paying less than we are now and it is at LEAST 3x the size. 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and (my favorite) the kitchen is enormous. Our apartment now has been great for us- we have 3 bedrooms but there is almost no storage. I have had to be SO creative to get everything to fit and look nice. And now, I am excited that I will actually have a pantry, a laundry room (instead of a laundry closet), and more storage then I will know what to do with.

We are taking a little roadtrip this week, then home to shoot Nate & Cali's wedding, then moving into our new home on Saturday the 29th. The Monday after that school starts (I'll be taking 20 credits!), then a quick trip to California with our good friends Jason & Emylee, then my booth in the UVU women's expo. Whew! It's going to be a crazy month. Anyways, there is a quick update on us. I will post pictures of the new place as soon as we get all moved in.

My new business cards! I was inspired to design my own after seeing the persnickity cards at the last booth we did. The man I talked to with Persnickity was so nice and even told me where the best place to get them printed is! They also have theirs on a 4x6 postcard which I think is such a cute idea!

I also found this design online that I love! So i tried to pattern them after it {of a sort}.

Monday, August 3

Lance's mom owns SwimKids in Sandy; a program that focuses on teaching infants as young as 6 months old survival and swimming skills. Neal & Lance put together a summer-end party for everyone. It was a success and so much fun! I'm so proud of Lance and all the hard work he has put in this summer helping to run his mom's business. They are even looking into buying a facility which is very exciting. There are big things in store for SwimKids.

Liz with two of her students. She has been teaching for nearly 25 years.

What a cutie!

Liz with some of her instructors.

Including Trisha who is training as an instructor.

Lance is an amazing diver

What a hunk! He looks pretty natural with the baby doesn't he?

My favorites

Kenna, Liz's star student! "I wish I could clone her,"

Liz commented after a lesson. :)

Neal! The apron says it all... :)

There was a raffle along with the BBQ and we auctioned off free swimming lessons, flippers, goggles, and a photo shoot and frame from me! I have been really busy with photo shoots and frames ever since our booth in the Freedom Festival and there seemed to be quite a bit of interest after the raffle. I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love.